I might get some hate, but here’s the truth. No code is useful with helping you fail. NOT useful with helping you succeed. In other words, it helps you avoid becoming poor. But it won’t make you rich. Why Am I Making This Video? This channel was started
to help non tech founders. And no code app builders help non tech founders. Shouldn’t I be advocating their use? I do - as a tool. With a specific scope of usefulness. I’d never advocate no code as the be
all end all of software development. But I worry that survivorship bias
and lack of exposure can give new founders unrealistic expectations of no code. What do I mean? Look at this thread on the No code subreddit. A question that gets asked all the time: Is it Possible to Build a Successful
SaaS Company with No-Code? And let’s be real - successful here means Look at the top comment: So maybe no code can’t make you 100 million. But 10 million? 5 million? 1 million? Sure. It worked for me. Scroll down, and you get comments
with more realistic views: But the one success story gets pushed to the top. And that’s the one most likely to be seen
by new founders who then go away thinking, “1 million dollars is pretty good!” It’s great to be inspired - but don’t overlook the
fact that that these are exceptions to the rule. It happens in many industries,
not just software development. One success story gets the spotlight and the
multiple failures stay hidden in the shadows. That’s survivorship bias. Back to that Reddit thread,
someone had a very balanced take: There are 7 figure businesses running on
Bubble - think Flexiple and BetterLegal. But neither are technically SaaS. Flexiple is a two sided marketplace
that connects buyers and sellers. Betterlegal digitizes the process of company
incorporation and compliance for entrepreneurs. Neither is using no code to
sell software subscriptions. They just built a super scalable
delivery vehicle for the business. Nothing fancy needed, so a no code
isn’t going to be a limiting factor. But for a traditional SaaS - where people
are paying for a software, no code alone very probably will be a limiting factor once
you have the ability and desire to expand. Now, your business will be limited
by what no code app builders can do. Or, more like, what they can’t do. Hard (Or Impractical) To Build Custom Functions No code is meant to be easy to build and
edit because the app builder gives you a list of ready made functions - common
use cases - and you work with those. Drag and drop in whatever combination you see fit. But if your idea is good, your list of features is bound to grow
beyond the list of functions provided. There are workarounds but they’re not ideal
as they almost always mean the code is not as clean and efficient as it could be
if it was written just for your app. Next. Heavy Reliance On Third Party Services As much as possible, you don’t want your six
figure business relying on a third party provider. But with no code, whenever a certain function
is impossible or impractical to build within the ecosystem, the solution is to just
zapier it to a third party or use a plugin. Think auth0 for user authentication
or Classify for CSS customization. It works, but it’s not ideal. For one, these services can cost more
per use than just building your own. Once you scale to even hundreds of users,
you’ll absolutely start feeling the cost. And there’s always a chance
they increase their charges. For another, if you’ve ran a site on Wordpress,
you’ll know too many plugins slow it down. It’s no different with a SaaS or app. You’re adding layers to the backend code
that don’t have to be there. Keep doing this and you have a Frankenstein
app - it will be, well, deformed. Slow, clunky, and hard to maintain. The only one that wins no matter
what is the plugin founder. Next. Hard To Scale Cost-Effectively Because of the reasons above, if
we compare the average no code app to an identical product built on custom code by competent developers here’s what we’ll find: Basic features are implemented faster in the
no code app, but custom, complex features get added significantly faster with custom code.
Faster performance and lower maintenance costs for the custom app because the developer
doesn’t have to compensate with plugins and APIs. What does this mean for the two founders? Well, it means the one with the custom built
app can iterate faster over the long term, and offer their SaaS at lower prices. You’ll be this guy: Meanwhile, the other guy can just
focus on meeting market need. Next. No Code Takes Time To Learn And even more time to master. It’s not like Canva where you can just stumble
in and make a decent poster in a few minutes. You’ll hear stories of businesses that
launched their MVP in weeks with no code. Most likely, those founders were either
already experienced with the app builder, or they hired professional no code developers,
which has become a field unto itself. Learning is fine, but an inevitable part
of learning on your own is making mistakes. It’s just that some mistakes can be seen
a mile away, if you know what to look for. Which brings me to probably the most
important limitation of a no code app builder. No Code Won’t Give You Advice The right developer will. As a rule of thumb, founders are
often eager to do more than necessary. Because no code is so fast and so cheap, I can see why there’s less risk in
throwing everything you have at users. You waste time, you clog up your
SaaS with unnecessary details, and you jeapordize good ideas with poor execution. After all, we don’t know what we don’t know. And as a non living entity, an
app builder can’t talk to you. If you think it does, you’re hearing
voices - and the voices are saying. Subscribe A competent developer who has built these types
of apps can share first hand experience on: how the project turned out,
unforeseen challenges those founders faced, what features ended up being
a waste of time and money, what features SHOULD have been implemented,
if the founder has made a mistake in market validation, and
even assist the founder with finding testers Now, I’d like to share… Living proof Dividend Finance - I featured them
in a recent video of a no code SaaS that went on to become a $50 million business. But by then they weren’t no code any more. They built their MVP on Bubble, but once they
needed to implement more complex features, they went custom and hired in house developers. Comet - one of the OGs of
the Bubble no code startups, is also a two sided marketplace
and they no longer run on no code. BloomTech - MVP on Bubble, today
no longer running on no code. Salesramp - MVP build with Noodl,
today no longer running on no code Sifter - Another Noodl MVP
that’s no longer on no code I should clarify that I used Wappalyzer,
a tool that lists out the tech stack used to create a web app or site.
It’s not 100% failproof, though. I could keep going, but these examples
are hopefully enough to tell you moving to high code is a normal part
of a successful SaaS startup. I’ve laid out the limitations of no code, now let
me close the loop I opened with the video title. Why no code won’t make you rich Your app won’t exist in a vacuum. When a profitable solution is
discovered, other entrepreneurs notice. And if they think they can build a better
solution than yours, you better believe they will. They’re not gonna say, ah well, Adrian’s already
doing it, I don’t wanna intrude on his market. It’s not Adrian’s market. It’s everyone’s market. That’s why no software company ever
stops iterating and improving to solve their customers’ problem
today better than yesterday. And if that means more features in your SaaS, no code is going to limit how
fast and how far you can go. Someone with a custom built solution has a much
better chance at evolving with customers’ needs. How are you going to ‘get rich’ when
you can’t respond to competition? You don’t. Yes, in cases like Better Legal, they
are a large business running on Bubble. But if you read their story, they
actually transitioned out of no code, realized it was more economical for
them, and so to Bubble they went. They went the conventional route first,
then found out they were an exception. Good for them. Don’t go the unconventional route first,
then find out you’re no exception. And what is the conventional route? No code for faster than last
time MVP and market validation, custom once you’re ready to grow
the software and business long-term. With that out of the way, let’s hook you
up with some solid no code app builders. App builders I recommend Speaking of solving problems
today better than yesterday, I feel like Bubble, one of the biggest no code
app builders, is kind of overrated in 2023. They’re still as robust as ever,
but so is their vendor lock in. But lot of competitors today are just as
robust as Bubble, without vendor lock in. There’s no reason to no longer own your code. Whether the code is any good is another
matter - but it’s the principle that counts. Here is a video on three no and low
code options that will let you build what you would’ve built on Bubble,
but without the vendor lock in.
